Miami Dolphins, Joe Philbin building for 2013

Friday

Dec 28, 2012 at 6:00 AM

By Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The Miami Dolphins can’t make the playoffs and can’t finish 2012 with a winning record, but Sunday’s regular-season finale at Gillette Stadium is an important game for the Patriots’ AFC East foe nonetheless.

Miami has made some strides under first-year coach Joe Philbin, and capping his debut campaign with a victory would be one more step in the rebuilding process.

“I think if we’re able to go out and play like we want to,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said, “it’ll be a big thing heading into next year.”

A win would give 7-8 Miami its first non-losing season since 2008.

The division champion Patriots, meanwhile, could be playing for a first-round playoff bye, depending on what happens in an earlier game Sunday between Houston and Indianapolis.

“We’re going to have enough to play well and defeat the New England Patriots, not derail something that’s beyond our control anyway,” Philbin said. “We’re focused on playing as well as we possibly can.”

Philbin, the former Worcester Academy student and WPI assistant coach, was hired by the Dolphins in January. He quickly added two others with Central Mass. ties to his staff — offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle — and quite rapidly began to put his stamp on the entire program.

“From the beginning when Philbin started, he came in and he changed the whole locker room and he changed our facility,” Dolphins running back Reggie Bush said. “He changed everything. I think what he did when he came in is he wanted to kind of portray that he’s changing the whole mentality of this organization, mind-set, and I think he did that.

“I think it’s been really positive for a lot of guys and for the people here, and I think we’ve been feeding off of that. I think the direction of this organization is going in the right place.”

The Dolphins have the second-youngest team in the league behind St. Louis, with 11 rookies on the active roster. Among them is Tannehill, who will become the first Miami rookie QB to start all 16 games.

He also will be the first Dolphins quarterback to start all 16 games in a season since Chad Pennington in 2008, so the team likes that he has brought some stability to the position, and Philbin seems encouraged by Tannehill’s growth this year.

“He’s making good progress,” Philbin said. “In our system, we’re looking for a guy that makes very good decisions with the football, number one, and I think he’s made good strides in that area. The second thing we’re looking for is a guy that throws the ball accurately and he’s making progress there, although we need to improve there in that area as well.

“The last thing is you’ve got to manage the game and make plays that decide outcomes of games. I think some of those he’s proven he can do that as well. We’ve just got to do it a little bit more consistently and a little better.”

After losing five of six, the Dolphins have won back-to-back games against the Jaguars and Bills. A victory over the Patriots would give Miami its second three-game winning streak of the season.

“I think it would be a good way to finish for these guys who have made a lot of sacrifices and worked their tails off since April 10 to represent this franchise the right way,” Philbin said, “and I think it would be a tremendous way to finish. As I said, it’s not going to be easy. This is an excellent team we are playing that is extremely well coached.”

Earlier this month in South Florida, the Dolphins gave the Patriots a pretty good battle, holding New England to a season-low 321 yards. But mistakes, including two crucial special-teams errors, cost Miami in a 23-16 loss.

The Patriots played poorly in last week’s win over the lowly Jaguars, another team with “nothing to play for,” and with a bye potentially on the line, New England can’t afford another letdown.

“(The Jaguars) didn’t play like a team that only won two games, I’ll tell you that,” Wilfork said. “We’re expecting the same thing here. It’s a division game, they’re on the road, and it’s their last game of the season, so I’m pretty sure they’re going to set the tone early.

“They have a bunch of great players, and we have to be ready to play fast, start fast and finish strong. That’s one of the things we have to do, and if we do that, we’ll be OK, but if we don’t, it will be a long day for us.”